I started in this world like anyone else - naked and screaming. But I was quickly welcomed into a loving family. I was born of goodly parents, as some may say. I have a Dad and a Mom who have done what they could to raise me right. They instilled in me work ethics, honesty and the love of my fellow man. They have helped shape me into the person I am today. Their love and support defines me as a mother, for if only I could be as good of a parent as they have been to me! I also have three incredibly protective big brothers who, if anything know when to come to their baby sister's aid - forgetting themselves and any grudges they may harbor. They truly are a little sister's heroes. I also have an older sister who through most of my childhood was my second mother and as an adult, she's become my confidant and best friend. She has taken me under her wing and now as a widow, she serves as my mentor, my therapist, my financial guru and stand-in mom to my little girl. I have a wonderful family.

As a young girl, I never starved for friendship. I have been fortunate to have met some great people in my life and with 3 big brothers and a big sister, I was always the center of attention. After a big move from a small town in California to the Bay Area when I was about 6, gone were the days of riding my bike around the corner and the endless stream of neighborhood children to play with. One day towards the end of summer, I found myself standing at the back fence of some neighbors, whose twin daughters were swimming in their wading pool. I struck up a conversation with the 5 year olds and the rest as they say is history. To this day, these girls are my closest friends. We have endured 30 years together - through childhood wonderment, to teenage hormones, high school, boys, seeking our independence, marriage and 1000s of miles of distance between us. We are nearing 40 and we're as close as we've ever been. Three girls completely opposite in how we were raised but common in our sisterhood. We are the best as best friends come.

Adulthood brought with it many challenges that aren't that unique to me. I graduated college and ultimately left home for pastures greener in Tennessee. Stars in my eyes, I wanted to be close to the famous in Nashville and maybe try my hand at public relations. What I got was a career in web design, two dogs, a cat and a husband that I met in a country music chat room. It was an unorthodox courtship but that's me - always willing to embrace new things and find a way to make it work when others say it won't. Prior to meeting Mike, I had all but given up on guys. I had been handed a disappointment in high school - an infatuation that quickly grew into friendship that doubled as a confusing ball of goo that I will equate as my "first love". It was a one sided love that lasted well after high school and ended in a flaming heap of jilted angst that is probably still burning in an empty field somewhere between Concord and Turlock, California. After that I was pretty much through with love but funny things happened on the way to the online chat room one night in 1995. Mike genuinly liked talking to me. He was interesting, funny and best of all interested in ME. We chatted for nearly 2 months before we even knew what the other looked like. Gone were the inhibitions. We were forced to just be ourselves and quickly curiousity turned into like and like followed with love. We didn't even meet face to face until 1996 and quickly after that he was helping me pack my stuff and move to Tennessee. We married the following year.

My parents talked about Lodi, CA - my birthplace - being their "Camelot". The days there were happy. The living there was carefree. Their kids could come and go freely. It was safe there. Life was good. My Camelot was Nashville. Mike and I built a home there and were so excited to start a family. But things change...life, as it does, took a turn and we found ourselves in Utah a few years later to be closer to family who needed us near. Mike sacrificed his love of the warmer weather - our Camelot - so we could be here amongst the cold mountains and snowy winters. He did it for me. We were blessed 2 years later when our daughter was born. Michaela Kristine is our greatest achievement - a testiment of our love and proof that there could be a Heaven on earth. She was and is perfect in every way.

We've been in Utah since 2000. We've made our home here and although we never were sure how long we'd stay, we settled in anyway and waited for life to bring whatever it had to us. 8 years later, life has thrown us a curveball. And here, I sit... But don't feel bad for me. I have much yet to do. I have a great kid, who at 5 years old, has shown me more wisdom than I can hope to have in my little finger. She reminds me daily of happier times so that I won't dwell upon the fact that her Daddy is no longer here with us. She is my future.

Now, on to the next chapter...